Stress-Reducing Spice

The spice turmeric, common in Indian food, may be an antidote to stress, according to the journal Brain Research. Ying Xu, a pharmacologist at Peking University, and his team studied symptoms of stress in rats, which included impaired ability to perform tasks, changes in the brain and adrenal glands, and higher blood levels of a stress-related hormone. When the rats were given small amounts of curcumin, the ingredient in turmeric that gives it its yellow hue, these responses were prevented or reduced. The researchers, who have also found curcumin to help lift signs of depression in mice, say there is a long tradition of its medicinal use, but its efficacy and safety at various doses needs more study. Alternative health expert Andrew Weil notes that curcumin extract is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, and suggests taking daily supplements containing 95 percent curcuminoids.